Workbench Project

I should've done this a long time ago.  There have been many times when I needed a good, sturdy surface to work on various projects and had to improvise.  I made it work each time, but the project often went slower or didn't turn out as well as it could have.

I started out by making plans in Google Sketchup.
That took for ever!  It was easier to build than it was to draw!  I guess I should've read the instructions first!

I find it much easier to draw rough sketches of my projects on paper, but as I tackle more complex projects (this was a very simple one, obviously), I'll probably need the precision of a digital program.  I'm learning on the free version.  Maybe later I'll spring for the "pro" version.

This is the finished product.  It's not pretty, but I don't need it to be, so i didn't intend it to be.  It is, however, very sturdy and over-built, which is how I typically build stuff.  It's also at the perfect height for me, which a store-bought bench would never be.

The casters make it easy to move around the garage and they lock.  I think it could use a vise, a lamp, a power strip for tools and battery chargers, and an extension cord.

Note the pallets in the background left over from the compost bin project.  I think we already need another bin, so I'm glad I kept them.  Also, I miscalculated somehow and ended up with two extra 2x4x8s.